Linx surgery for acid reflux
Posted , 2 users are following.
I have been loathe to post a comment about the Linx device because I know that it has helped 100s of people and I am very much in the minority. However, after a year since I had the operation I now feel it my duty to write about my experience, if it can help anyone else in a similar situation to myself.
As someone else on this site remarked some time ago, it is best not to have the operation unless absolutely necessary. I now believe that this was not the case for myself.
I suffered from acid heart burn for several years before being prescribed Lansaprazole. I took this very successfully for 6 years until I started feeling nauseas several times a day. In order to undergo several tests, I had to stop this drug for 2 weeks. In that time I suffered appalling heart burn (far worse than before) and when I resumed the capsules they only helped the symptoms marginally.
I saw a specialist who confirmed that I needed surgical intervention and he suggested the Linx device. By this time I had been switched to Esomeprazole which worked wonders. In hindsight, I should have stuck with this and abandoned surgery but, as I needed a hiatus hernia repair and had the side effects of being on the PPI long term pointed out to me, I opted for the Linx.
From the first sip of soup I had post-op I found swallowing difficult. This did improve after 3 months but it is now a year since the operation and I am still having discomfort after eating, and indeed throughout the day, in my chest. I no longer have the acid reflux but I do suffer the accompanying problems of acidity, such a coughing, sore throat and hoarseness. I am back on the Esomeprazole (with little effect I'm sorry to say – though Gaviscon is a great help). Swallowing is not exactly difficult, but it is uncomfortable.
I hope that this helps anyone deciding whether to go ahead with Linx surgery. If you suffer from extreme acidity and nothing else has worked, then it is probably a wise decision. But if you can get by with a suitable PPI, think twice!
0 likes, 2 replies
Jaybird13 flokim
Posted
Thanks so much for posting this. I've struggled with GERD for about 15 years now and have been successfully treating it with a PPI. Thank goodness, the PPI works well and I've had no side effects. I get blood work and a complete physical done every years and my doctor says that as long as the PPI keeps the GERD under control, keep going that route. I have an uncle who is in his late 60's and who has been on Omeprazole since it first came out, so that's about 30 years. He also has not had any side effects. I often see LINX and other surgical options being touted as great options, even if PPI is working. I've thought about it, but since my PPI works fine AND I hear stories like this, I think I'll stick with the PPI.
flokim Jaybird13
Posted
i am pleased to hear that my message has helped you . But please don't only listen to me. I would hate the influence of my experience to have a negative effect on any future decision you make. Linx has helped lots of others but unfortunately not me!